Ninety-five mothers and their 2-year-old children participated in a study of maternal control strategies and child autonomy as measured by children's defiant, compliant, and self-assertive behavior. Mothers and children were observed in a laboratory compliance task and at home at dinnertime. Compliance and self-assertion were associated with mothers' use of less powerful methods of control. Defiance loaded on a different factor than either compliance or self-assertion and was associated with more power-assertive control strategies. In situations in which the child had said "no" to the mother, maternal negative control was more likely than any other control strategy to elicit defiance in both settings. The strategy of combining control with guidance was the most likely to elicit compliance and the least likely to elicit defiance in both settings. These associations are discussed in terms of reciprocity and power sharing in relationships and their congruence with Baumrind's (1973) pattern of authoritative parenting.An important facet of competence in 2-year-olds is the way in which they negotiate their independence in the context of the requirements of their social world. This ability to "achieve one's goals without violating the integrity of the goals of the other" (Bronson, 1974, p.280) is likely a major aspect of the development of social competence at any age. It may have special significance during toddlerhood, however, because the way in which the issue is resolved during this period of development has the potential for influencing what occurs as development progresses. Erikson (1963) referred to the resolution of this issue in terms of autonomy versus shame and doubt and linked the latter outcomes to parental overcontrol. At issue in the present article is the way in which the strategies parents use to control their children's behavior and the degree of reciprocity in their relations contribute to the development of autonomy in their 2-year-olds. We begin with a consideration of self-assertive, de-

This study investigates the influence of infant irritability, maternal responsiveness, and social support on the development of secure and anxious infant-mother attachments at 1 year. Infant irritability was assessed during the neonatal period using the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale, maternal responsiveness to crying was measured during observations at 3 months, and social support was based on interviews also conducted at 3 months. Security of attachment measures were derived from strange-situation videotapes. Results indicate that social support is the best predictor of secure attachment, and that it is most important for mothers with irritable babies. Maternal unresponsiveness is associated with resistance during reunion episodes and appears to be a mechanism through which anxious attachment develops. Some evidence suggests that social support may mitigate the effects of unresponsive mothering by providing the infant with a responsive substitute. Results are discussed in terms of a transactional/contextual model of development.

A developmental model of the origins of maternal self‐efficacy and its impact on maternal sensitivity was tested. Participants were 92 primiparous mothers and their 6‐month‐old infants. Mothers completed questionnaires about remembered care from their own parents and self‐esteem prenatally, satisfaction with support, infant temperament, and maternal self‐efficacy postnatally, and they participated in a laboratory observation with their infants. Maternal self‐efficacy was predicted by remembered maternal care as mediated by global self‐esteem. Infant soothability predicted maternal self‐efficacy independently and in conjunction with distress to novelty and in conjunction with both distress to limits and satisfaction with support. Maternal self‐efficacy interacted with distress to limits to predict maternal sensitivity during emotionally arousing activities. High infant distress was associated with less sensitive maternal behavior when maternal self‐efficacy was moderately low and extremely high, but was positively associated with sensitive maternal behavior when self‐efficacy was moderately high. Implications for future research are discussed.

Three issues were investigated: (a) the regulatory effects of presumed infant and maternal regulation behaviors on infant distress to novelty at 6 months, (b) stability of infant regulatory effects across contexts that vary in maternal involvement, and (c) associations and temporal dynamics between infant and maternal regulation behaviors. Participants were 87 low-risk infants and their mothers, observed at 6 months postpartum during infant exposure to novel toys. Contingencies derived from sequential analyses demonstrate that, by 6 months, some infants reduce their own distress to novelty by looking away from the novel toy or self-soothing, maternal engagement and support have comparable effects, and certain infant and maternal behaviors co-occur. Moreover, infants whose mothers engaged contingently when they looked away from the novel toy expressed less distress than comparable infants whose mothers did not. These findings implicate both infants and mothers in the development of emotion regulation during the infant's first year.

This study investigates the influence of infant irritability, maternal responsiveness, and social support on the development of secure and anxious infant-mother attachments at 1 year. Infant irritability was assessed during the neonatal period using the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale, maternal responsiveness to crying was measured during observations at 3 months, and social support was based on interviews also conducted at 3 months. Security of attachment measures were derived from strange-situation videotapes. Results indicate that social support is the best predictor of secure attachment, and that it is most important for mothers with irritable babies. Maternal unresponsiveness is associated with resistance during reunion episodes and appears to be a mechanism through which anxious attachment develops. Some evidence suggests that social support may mitigate the effects of unresponsive mothering by providing the infant with a responsive substitute. Results are discussed in terms of a transactional/contextual model of development.